Cuomo's Job Approval Rating Plunges in NY

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s job performance rating among Latino and African American voters has plunged, according to a new poll that shows his overall approval rating falling to its lowest level since he took office in 2011.

The NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist College poll reveals that his performance rating has plunged 10 percentage points in three years, to 42 percent from 52 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The figure was 6 points lower than his previous record low of 48 percent, which occurred the first month after he took over in Albany. However, his favorability rating was still quite positive with 63 percent.

His steepest decline came from Latino voters, tumbling to 41 percent from 62 percent, while his job approval ratings from African-Americans went downhill as well, decreasing to 42 percent from 57 percent.

His cloud had a silver lining. The Democratic governor, who is seeking re-election this year, was well ahead of potential Republican rivals, including Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who joined the race on Wednesday.

The poll found that Cuomo would beat Astorino by 65 percent to 25 percent. He’d also trounce his 2010 GOP nominee Carl Paladino by 68 percent to 25 percent, and Donald Trump by 70 percent to 26 percent. Paladino and Trump’s unfavorability ratings were 40 percent and 61 percent respectively.

Although 56 percent of those surveyed believe Cuomo is running things smoothly in Albany, only 45 percent feel he’s making a difference in the Empire State. The poll found that 29 percent feel he’s having no impact while 23 percent think he’s having a negative effect.

Marist polling director Lee Miringoff, said the governor's poor approval ratings were largely due to voter concerns about the economy.

"Voters are comfortable with Cuomo but he still needs to convince many that the economy is turning around," he told The Journal.

The survey, conducted Feb. 28 to March 3, polled 827 New York state adults, including 658 registered voters, with an overall margin of error of 3.4 percentage points, while the margin of error among registered voters was 3.8 percentage points.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's job performance rating among Latino and African American voters has plunged, according to a new poll that shows his overall approval rating falling to its lowest level since he took office in 2011.